


Bathwater

by MagnetHead



Series: Quiet Comforts [1]
Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Lives Ending, Implied Climbing Class, M/M, Mike is a good boy, So is Chris, and grief, and self hatred, and they happen to have mutual crushes on eachother, and trauma, anyways enjoy, boys navigating complicated relationships, chris carries a lot of guilt, chris is having big sad boy hours, honestly just let all the boys be in love with eachother u cowards???, i wrote this for a friend at 4 am, josh is left behind on the mountain and presumed dead, mike calls chris 'topher, mike is there to help support his friend, soft depression bath, takes place after the game, trauma and grief are a bitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24620515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagnetHead/pseuds/MagnetHead
Summary: Chris struggles with basic self-care after coming home from the lodge and being forced to confront his grief over losing Josh.
Relationships: Chris Hartley/Josh Washington, Chris Hartley/Mike Munroe
Series: Quiet Comforts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812724
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	Bathwater

**Author's Note:**

  * For [uwume](https://archiveofourown.org/users/uwume/gifts).



> The bruise that Chris refers to is from a headcanon fight that takes place directly after the survivor interviews where Chris finally lost his cool and lashed out at Mike for letting Josh go and blaming him for Jessica. Mike, also carrying guilt and processing trauma and blames himself, would have let Chris kill him if the others hadn't pried them away.

"Close."

Chris felt his eyes slide shut obediently, too tired and too far away to disobey the voice, bowing his head as warm water poured down over his head and back. Admittedly, it felt really nice.. and so did the fingers that ran through his hair, scrubbing away at weeks worth of grime and grease. He'd let himself go again. He'd been doing better, even managed to eat something.. but he'd slipped again. He'd thought about him. Josh. And with that and the spiral that followed.. bathing had become something too monumentous and exhausting to even consider. There was the sudden feeling of rough knuckles running over his cheek, wiping away a hot trail of water running down his face. He must have started crying again, he had little control of his emotions anymore. He had tried so hard at the lodge trying to process.. trying to be logical.. to be the voice of reason and relief that it had finally taken its toll. He made no move to stop the tears or the back of the gentle hand from touching his face or from pulling away to resume washing his hair.

"Alright, you can open."

Chris, again, did as he was told. Bleary, blue eyes blinking open and staring absently at his naked form and crossed legs that sat in the soapy, warm bathwater. This wasn't the first time he had needed help cleaning himself. It was pathetic.. a grown man unable to even keep himself clean. He was just lucky he didn't smell too awful whenever he needed the support. He clenched his jaw, his expression turning hard as the familiar mixture of self-hatred, embarrassment, and self-consciousness set in. _Worthless. Pathetic. Useles-_ A finger came and tapped at where his jaw hinged. A silent, stern reminder to relax the muscles there. Chris did as he was told, his muscles letting go of the tension, and with it his intrusive thoughts as he settled back into the calloused hands that continued to run through his hair.

"Close."

His eyes closed. More warm water trickled through his hair and down his face. He wanted to talk. To say something. To make him laugh. Instead, all that came out was a broken,

"I'm sorry." It's all he seemed to be able to say anymore. He was like a broken record - one that he wished someone would just toss out. He was sick of hearing himself say it and he was sure that the other was too - no matter how much he meant it. Another stream of hot tears slipped from his closed eyes. Instead of another careful brush away of knuckles, he felt calloused fingers take hold of his chin and direct his head towards the man off beside him.

"Hey."

It took a long moment of pulling out of his dissociation before blue met warm brown and an easy, handsome smile.

"You got nothin' to be sorry about."

Chris tried to look away, his gaze faltering to take in the greenish, yellow bruise that surrounded one of the fond, brown eyes. He had done that. Why had he done that? He hated himself. His friend hadn't deserved that. He hadn't even fought back-

"'Topher."

Chris blinked back to the firm gaze that pinned him down. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve Mike.

"I would do this a hundred times over, understand?"

Chris stopped, his eyes widened and seemed to clear as he desperately searched Mike's expression for an ounce of dishonesty. When he found nothing but sincerity and something.. deeper layered in the brown eyes he pulled his head away from his grasp, too overwhelmed by the attention and what he knew he was feeling too. Before he could process a response, his mouth moved quicker than his brain.

"You just wanna see me naked." His voice lilted upwards, teasing and followed by a skeptical huff of laughter. It was startling, to hear his normal self again. A warm chuckle rumbled from behind him and it lit up his cheeks to a rosy shade, feeling the last of the claws of dissociation release their grip on him.

"I think there's more to it than that, Chris."

The response was quiet, almost inaudible.. and maybe Chris would have let it go if it weren't for the pure fondness that was interwoven within it. He pulled his legs to his chest and rested his chin on his knees as he shyly looked towards the drain. Warm, careful hands moved on to begin scrubbing his hunched, freckled shoulders with a nearby cloth. He sunk a little into the water, his back leaning against the cool ceramic.

"Maybe there is." He murmured, just as quiet before shutting his eyes once more.

**Author's Note:**

> even after all this time im still writing about this gd game.


End file.
